7.3.2019 TTG Show Daily ITB Berlin 2
News
Deep dive into greater fun
The Philippines’ refreshed campaign shines light on new destinations, niche interests
By Yixin Ng
With a recent refresh of its destination
campaign, the Philippine Tourism Pro-
motions Board (TPB) is extending its fo-
cus on more granular marketing content
to European markets.
TPB recently revived the It’s More Fun
in the Philippines campaign with a strong
focus on crowd-sourced visual content
shared by tourists online. While this may
signal the weight that TPB is placing on
digital marketing, Marie Venus Tan, COO
of TPB told the Daily that visuals and oth-
er content serve to paint a clearer picture
of fun in the destination, meant to reso-
nate both online and offline.
“Our (marketing content) are meant to
illicit interest, and not simply (highlight
the destination), but what’s in the destina-
tion. It’s important that we don’t merely
focus on beaches, as this is a very com-
petitive area regionally, or mountains. We
would have to go deeper into culture and
folklore, for example.”
TPB intends to highlight more tourism
assets that appeal to niche interest, and
part of that will involve opening up new
destinations.
“We are appealing to areas that address
specific niche interests. For instance, surf-
ing in Siargao. We will use more action
shots that will evoke curiosity.”
She added: “Boracay does not need pro-
motion – it needs enhancements. We are
opening up Iloilo, and other destinations
outside of Mindanao such as Bukidnon.
These areas are interesting for experiential
tourism, (and figure into) the strategic di-
rection towards special interests.”
Content will be targeted to different
IN BRIEF
Laos MICE guide launches
We Are Lao is introducing The MICE
Guide to Laos at ITB Berlin to promote
the country for business events and
incentives. The guide features 16 hotels,
including Chitchareun Moung Luang
Hotel and The Grand Luang Prabang
Hotel & Resort. Delegates can get a copy
of the guide and more information at
Hall 26 B, Stand 215.
New beach resort in Ho Tram
Come April, Melia Ho Tram Beach
Resort will open its doors in southern
Vietnam, two hours from Ho Chi Minh
City. The 17ha property has 152 rooms
– ranging in sizes from 47m 2 to 88m 2 –
and 61 villas – measuring from 220m 2
to 465m 2 . The resort also boasts three
restaurants including a beach club, three
swimming pools, a swim-up bar, a coffee
shop, a 10-treatment room spa, an execu-
tive lounge, a ballroom and conference
facilities, a kids club and a gym.
Fly above Angkor’s remote temples
Luxe by Exo’s new helicopter tour of
remote Angkor sites, Koh Ker and Beng
Mealea, with an Angkor archeologist. The
flight, operated on a late-model Airbus
AS350 - H125 or Eurocopter AS350 - B3,
is air-conditioned and takes up to five
passengers. Departing from Siem Reap,
the total flight time is approximately 60
minutes, with three hours for guided
tours of the two sites.
markets. “Diving is an important niche
while we’re here in Europe. In the UK, it is
birdwatching, among other activities. And
in India and the Middle East, weddings.”
In Europe, the UK, Germany and
France are the top performing source mar-
kets in terms of both volume and growth,
Tan said. Emerging markets in eastern Eu-
rope, such as Poland and Russia, are also
coming onto the radar, she added.
As tourist numbers grow and new parts
of the Philippines are promoted to visi-
tors, industry observers foresee connec-
tivity to be a continued challenge with the
lack of direct international connections
and capacity strains at the country’s main
gateway.
Tan stated that communications is vital
to “manage expectations” of travellers, as
well as to tie back to what makes the Phil-
ippines different from its neighbours.
“We are an archipelago with many is-
lands, not a landlocked country (offering)
seamless and contiguous travel. How we
communicate that to manage the expecta-
tions of travellers is very important.
“Connectivity is a challenge. But at the
same time, talking about it is one way to
bridge knowledge of what the Philippines
is. Many people tend to look at the coun-
tries in South-east Asia as similar, which
is not right.”
Down the line, Tan shared that there
may be plans to appoint MICE represen-
tation in Europe. In the region, the des-
tination has had offices in Frankfurt and
London since the 90s.
Tan elaborated: “We are now strategis-
ing and working out a MICE action plan.
(In addition to the tourism offices) the
Philippine Department of Tourism al-
ready has, we are probably going to have
MICE representation in Europe or the
Middle East.”
It’s important that we
don’t merely focus on
beaches... or mountains.
We would have to go
deeper into culture and
folklore, for example.
Marching into greater
multi-country possibilities
longhaul market, Wiegand sees “exciting
By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
Following decades of operating in South- possibilities” that China, in combination
east Asia, including China’s Yunnan prov- with other South-east Asian countries,
ince, Vietnam-based DMC Focus Asia has will bring. “Many of them are repeaters
taken the “next logical step” in its expan- – and they are looking also for in-depth-
sion strategy to cover the rest of the Mid- experience.”
China would make a great
dle Kingdom.
combination with Vietnam
The move marks the “com-
and Laos, suggested Wiegand,
pletion of a country which we
whether it’s going overland from
already started via Yunnan” and
Hong Kong, via the new bridge
to “offer China as a full desti-
linking to Macau, to the World
nation”, Frank Wiegand, Focus
Heritage Site of Kaiping Diaolou
Asia’s director of team sales Eu-
and further to Vietnam’s Halong
rope and board member told the
Wiegand: closing
Bay, or going north to Guilin
Daily.
“Second, we focus on coun- the loop with China and onward to Nanning, before
crossing the border to Vietnam’s
tries where DMC are really need-
ed. These are mainly round-trip destina- Detian Waterfall and onward to Hanoi.
Elsewhere in China, the increasing de-
tions and not so much destinations where
hotel-only-bookings, especially for beach mand for the old Silk Road is an example
stays, are a very big part of the potential of new exciting tours within the country
too, he pointed out.
volume.”
Focus Asia has its head offices for Chi-
He added: “There is of course good
knowledge of China as a destination, as na in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, plus
long as we talk about the main highlights. operation offices in Beijing, Shanghai,
But China off the beaten track has much Chengdu and Kunming.
Maya Caspary, meanwhile, has been
more to offer than what you see in the ac-
appointed as a new senior member team
tual tour operating brochures.”
With multi-destination tours grow- sales Europe in Munich to support Focus
ing in popularity among the Western Asia’s worldwide teams internally.
New economy class
seats on Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways is set to introduce its newly-
enhanced economy class by end-2019.
Qatar Airways’ group chief executive Ak-
bar Al Baker said the new seats – unveiled
during a press conference at ITB Berlin yes-
terday – will be an upgraded version of the
current economy class offering.
The new seats have a semi-fixed back
shell which can be reclined without affect-
ing the passenger behind. There will be
enhanced legroom, as well as dual multi-
functional tables. The seat will also have
new 13.3-inch 4K in-flight entertainment
screens and USB Type-C with fast charging
capabilities.
Al Baker said these seats will eventu-
ally be rolled out across the fleet and will
also be installed on new aircraft deliveries,
adding that it would take between five and
eight years to complete the roll-out.
This new economy seating will also be
accompanied by an upgrade in the food
and service elements, including more
choices and more generous portions.
Al Baker also announced seven new
destinations for Qatar Airways: Izmir in
Turkey (thrice weekly), Rabat in Moroc-
co (thrice weekly), Malta in Italy (daily),
Davao in the Philippines (weekly) Lisbon
in Portugal (weekly), Mogadishu in Soma-
lia (thrice weekly), and Langkawi in Malay-
sia (five-times weekly). – Paige Lee Pei Qi
Correction:
A story in the Day 1 Daily (“High hopes
for Turkish connection”) incorrectly stated
that HPL Hotels & Resorts was conducting
a roadshow to Europe ahead of ITB Berlin
this year. It should be Alpha Hotel Manage-
ment (AHM). We apologise for the error.
Editorial
Karen Yue Group Editor
Xinyi Liang-Pholsena Editor, TTG Asia
S Puvaneswary Editor, Malaysia/Brunei
Mimi Hudoyo Editor, Indonesia
Pamela Chow Reporter, Singapore
Rachel AJ Lee, Yixin Ng Sub Editor
Caleb Richard Lai Photographer
Redmond Sia, Goh Meng Yong Creative Designers
Lina Tan Editorial Assistant
SPECIAL PRO JEC TS DI V I SIO N
Paige Lee Pei Qi Assistant Editor
CON TRIBU TOR S
Marissa Carruthers, Prudence Lui, Julian Ryall,
Rosa Ocampo, Chadamas Chinmaneevong,
Feizal Samath, Rohit Kaul
sal es & m ar keti ng
Pierre Quek Publisher and Head Integrated Solutions
Ar-lene Lee Senior Business Manager
Fiona Chan Senior Business Manager
Jonathan Yap Senior Business Manager
Shirley Tan Senior Business Manager
Chelsea Huang Marketing Executive
Delia Ng Digital Marketing Strategist
Cheryl Lim Advertisement Administration Manager
Carol Cheng Assistant Manager Administration
and Marketing
pub l i sh ing se rv i ces
Jonathan Wan Head, Operational Support Services
Kun Swee Qi Publishing Services Executive
Nur Hazirah Web Executive
Katherine Leong Circulation Executive
TT G As ia M e dia
Darren Ng Managing Director
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